


A Place in the Sun

by nekobazu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, M/M, Shounen-ai, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-15 01:46:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2211111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekobazu/pseuds/nekobazu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“I guess this means you won.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>At the questioning look on Kageyama’s face, Hinata smiled sadly. “We both swore to be the last man standing. I guess you won…”</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Place in the Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [foxowl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxowl/gifts).
  * Inspired by [You Are My Sunshine](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/73346) by pyropaws. 



> Zombie AU, inspired entirely by pyropaws' heartbreakingly beautiful piece of art for KageHina week on tumblr.
> 
> It's a zombie fic. There will be character death. There's also a little gore, and - for what it's worth - a little fluff. Don't expect a happy ending though.

_Crunch._

A dull, wet thud echoed through the otherwise silent room as the final assailant was disposed of. Kageyama felt a breath catch in his throat as he listened intensely for any signs that they may have missed one, that one might still be alive and waiting – a tell-tale groan, a faint shuffling sound, even an out-of-place footstep or the scrape of fingernails across the floor. There was only silence though; blessed, pure silence, a silence that meant he could exhale in relief.

They had been doing so well up until then. They'd been careful, checking every door they passed, every room they entered, every corridor they so much as glanced at, making sure that none of the walking dead were ready to pounce upon them. They hadn't had time to stop, though; there was a large horde further back in the facility, larger than they could handle, that would catch up on them far too quickly if they rested. That pursuing horde had been what had gradually built pressure on them; pressure to keep going, to not stop, to keep searching for an exit. And eventually, fatigue had gotten the better of them, and they'd blundered into a storage room full of shelves and crates, where what must have been twenty zombies had emerged.

“Is everyone okay?”

Daichi's voice called from the far side of the room, strain from worry clearly evident. He had naturally assumed a leadership role as soon as it was clear they were in trouble, and in the immediate aftermath of the chaos he was stepping up again, ready to draw their group back together. It was a relief, Kageyama realised, to not be the one controlling the team this time.

“I'm here,” the raven-haired setter called back, raising a hand. “I'm alright.”

“I'm okay too!” Sugawara called, his voice breathy from exertion.

“Nishinoya's over here!” Asahi called from behind a pile of wooden crates, affirming that he was fine. “He's banged and cut his head, but he's okay.”

“Me too,” came Tanaka's voice, followed by the sound of metal wiping against cloth. “Jesus, these fuckers are disgusting...”

The team waited for the final voice to pipe up, an expectant pause hanging in the air, and Kageyama felt his heart beginning to speed up as it remained unbroken. _Where was the little idiot?! Why wasn't he answering?_

“ _...'yama...”_

Kageyama felt his blood run cold.

That voice; that weakened, thick, scratchy voice... that couldn't possibly be Hinata. Not _his_ Hinata; not that boundlessly energetic, loud moron.

The setter didn't dare turn to look, not even when that faint, thickened attempt at his name came once more. It was a joke, that was all. The ginger-haired boy was messing around, and any minute now he'd laugh, and Kageyama would turn and yell at him and-

At that moment, Sugawara came into sight, and as his eyes settled on something behind Kageyama and his face paled, the youth realised that it wasn't a joke.

_No..._

“ _Kage... yama... please...”_

The setter felt sick. His world suddenly started spinning, and he was certain that he'd either throw up or fall over and he wasn't sure which would come first. He must have wobbled a little, because Sugawara's hands were suddenly on his shoulders, steadying him,  and then the boy's hand was cupping his cheek, providing a kind of reassurance and anchorage, slowly bringing Kageyama back to himself.

“Go to him,” Sugawara whispered, and Kageyama was suddenly aware that there were tears in the vice-captain's eyes. “He's calling for you...”

The first-year nodded, the dizziness replaced with numbness, and slowly he turned.

The numbness  was a blessing.

The ginger-haired youth sat slumped in a corner, the colour drained from his face and a stark red stain forming on the front of his tracksuit. There was a hole in the side of his neck, a vicious red gash so vivid against his pale skin, and even from where he stood Kageyama could see the blood pumping from it, every beat of the boy's heart a ticking clock draining his life a little more.

“No...”

Hinata's eyes slowly cracked open at the word, and he weakly reached a hand out toward the boy. “Kageyama...” he repeated, fainter than before. “Please...”

Somehow, even in his weakened state, Hinata's will was still irresistible, and somehow Kageyama found the strength to walk over to his teammate. That was as much as he could manage, though, and as he stopped beside the shorter boy – the boy who somehow seemed even smaller now – his legs finally gave out underneath him. He dropped to his knees hard enough to jar them but barely noticed the impact,  the sickening knot in his stomach tightening as he placed an unsteady hand on Hinata's knee, getting the boy's attention.

“I'm here,” he murmured dully, unsure of what else he could say or do. “I'm here.”

Somehow, Hinata managed to laugh a little at that, a hint of his former irrepressible grin forming at the corners of his mouth. “I didn't think you'd be good at this sort of thing,” he replied, speaking more easily now that he wasn't straining to be heard. “Shouldn't you be saying 'Don't die' or something like that?”

Those words stung Kageyama; oh god, how they stung. “Would it make a difference?” was all he could offer in response, his grip on the boy's knee tightening. “If I wished it; if I  _really_ wished, would it make a difference?”

Hinata laughed again at the setter's practicality, but there was no joy in it this time. “Probably not,” he conceded with a sigh. “I guess it's bad, huh?”

Kageyama could only nod at that. The numbness was still too strong, the reality of the situation still too distant for him to offer any words of comfort. He knew he should be saying something,  _anything,_ but the sight of Hinata slumped against the wall had knocked all the fight from him.

“I guess this means you won.”

At the questioning look on Kageyama's face, Hinata smiled sadly. “We both swore to be the last man standing. I guess you won...”

That was what it took to push Kageyama over the edge. Try as he might to force them back,  tears began pooling in his eyes, and his body began to tremble as waves of reality came crashing down on him. It was really happening. Hinata was really dying, right before his eyes. Hinata, that little ball of sunshine, that light in his life, was lying in the darkest corner of this cold, soulless room, and he was slipping away. Moment by moment, heartbeat by heartbeat, his sunshine was being taken from him, and he was powerless to stop it.

“You idiot,” he gasped, his voice cracking as a tear escaped, quickly followed by a second. “How can you call this winning?” The boy bit on his lower lip, unable to stem the tide any longer. _“It isn't winning if you're not still here with me!”_

“It has to be though...” Hinata whispered. “It's the only way you can carry on...”

“I can't...”

“You have to...” the ginger-haired boy persisted. Weakly, he grasped at Kageyama's hand, easing it from his knee and placing it on his other wrist, where a brightly-coloured bracelet sat. “We promised Natsu, remember?”

Kageyama stared at the bracelet through hazy vision, the bright colours stark against the dark background. Yes, they had promised Natsu. When they'd found the girl, already half-dead, Hinata had taken his sister's bracelet and promised to keep it safe – promised that he would get out alive, and that Kageyama would help. The girl had smiled at that, and hugged her brother. They had stayed with her until she finally slipped away, and when Hinata had been unable to, Kageyama had made sure she wouldn't come back.

_'So much for that'_ Kageyama thought bitterly.

“I know we broke the promise,” Hinata continued – and was his voice growing fainter? – “But you can still carry it on. I want you to take the bracelet, and take the promise with you. Make it out alive, please?”

“...I can't promise that...”

“Kageyama!” the boy cried, wincing as the strain pulled at his wound. “Please... promise me you'll live...”

The raven-haired setter remained silent at the repeated request, neither assenting nor arguing, and that was apparently enough for Hinata, who released the taller boy's hand. “ Hey, Kageyama...?”

“...yeah...?”

“I'm getting kind of cold...”

Those words stabbed at Kageyama, and fighting back a fresh wave of tears, he gathered Hinata up and pulled him close against his chest. The youth leaned appreciatively against the warmth, and his hands curled weakly into Kageyama's jacket.

“Hey, Kageyama...?”

“...yeah?”

“Since it doesn't make a difference, can I say something strange?”

The raven-haired youth suddenly felt his throat tighten up, and he rested his head lightly against Hinata's, nodding his assent. “...sure.”

“...I wish we'd done this before today.”

Kageyama felt himself beginning to tremble. Of all the things that could have been said, of all the words Hinata could have uttered, those were the kindest and the cruellest. “...I do too,” he admitted, as much to himself as to the boy, and that finally opened the gates. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, and he clung tightly to the smaller youth – Hinata felt so cold now, so delicate and fragile, and Kageyama couldn't help himself as he pulled the boy up and pressed a kiss to his lips desperately, kissing him again and again as if that could somehow breathe life back into his body. Hinata returned the kisses, more weakly but with no less passion, and for a moment, just the briefest of fleeting moments, both of them understood what might have been.

“...thank you...” Hinata whispered. “For everything...”

And with those words, with that final breath on Kageyama's cheeks, the boy was gone.

Silence fell for a moment, and in the moment that followed, a single, stifled sob came from Kageyama. The sob turned into a cry, and the cry finally grew into a howl of anguish as Kageyama held Hinata's lifeless body tight against his own, tears streaming down his face and fierce sobs racking his body.

It couldn't be. Not now, not like this, not with what should have been. Hinata didn't deserve this; not a dark, musty corner; not a place so far from the sun he loved; not in this hell-hole, running for their lives.

Anything but that.

Kageyama cried and cried, sobbing as he held the prone form against him, his face nestled against Hinata's, the boy's lips where his final breath had fallen. He was distantly aware of someone touching him, of someone gently shaking his shoulder and telling him he had to go, but him simply shrugged them off and held Hinata even more fiercely than before.

“Kageyama...” Sugawara insisted, his voice wavering but as firm as he could manage. “We have to leave. He's gone...”

“No...”

“Kageyama, you know what'll happen...”

“I don't care...”

“Kageyama-”

“ _I DON'T CARE!”_

The raven-haired boy's outburst startled Sugawara, and he stepped back involuntarily.

“ _I don't care!_ I don't care about any of it if he's not there!”

“Kageyama-”

This time, Daichi tried to speak up, but he too was cut off.

“I'm done with it!” the youth cried out, turning his head away from Hinata to direct his full fury at his team-mates. “Volleyball, surviving, that stupid promise – _none of it matters if he's not with me.”_

The setter lowered his eyes again, and buried his face in Hinata's hair. “Leave me with him... I've had enough.”

“Kageyama! You can't be serious!”

“I am,” came the flat reply. “Leave me with him. He can take me away, and I'll be with him again.”

Silence fell on the group, the team unable to find words to respond to the boy.

“That horde will catch up soon if you don't go,” he warned, somewhat distantly. “You'd better hurry.”

“But-”

Sugawara was cut off by Daichi's hand on his wrist. “...let's go.”

“But he-”

As Sugawara turned to protest, he saw the pain on Daichi's face.  It was a horrific decision to have to make, but, Sugawara realised, Daichi believed it was the right one.

“Look at his eyes... He won't come with us.”

As if to force the group's decision, there came a distant crash as something knocked some equipment of some sort over. The horde was getting closer, and if they stayed to force Kageyama to come with them, they might all fall too.

Kageyama wasn't aware of the group leaving. He didn't hear their goodbyes, or their gratitude, or their wishes that he might find Hinata in the next life. All he saw, all he felt, all he knew, was the boy cradled in his arms.

“Soon...” he whispered, pressing one last kiss to Hinata's lifeless lips. “Soon I'll see you again, my little ball of sunshine...”

 


End file.
